Stories about Abdul Sattar Edhi

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President Donald Trump is at it again. As if his life wasn’t full of excitement and ridiculousness already. What with executive firings, fraternising with porn stars, making hush payments and igniting diplomatic rows, President Trump wants to add another feather to his cap.
This time, it’s gaining the mother of all civic awards, the Nobel Prize. A group of over eager Republicans, which is Trump’s political party, have written to the Nobel Prize Committee, requesting that Trump be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering peace between North and South Korea.
Last week, Kim Jong Un (Supreme Leader of North Korea) ...

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On August 10, 2017 I heard about the demise of Dr Ruth Pfau. Within hours, social media was filled with condolence messages and appreciation posts for Dr Pfau’s efforts to counter leprosy in Pakistan.
Prayers for Dr Ruth Pfua. "We shall remember you as Ambassador of humanity and for selfless services to the people of Pakistan. RIP", COAS.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) August 10, 2017
Saddened to learn of Dr Ruth Pfau's passing. Her spirit of selfless dedication leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 10, 2017
Dr Ruth Pfau. Pakistani legend. Represented the pinnacle of human empathy ...

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This week, Pakistan lost one of its most modest, humble and underappreciated national treasures. Dr Ruth Pfau, after having dedicated her entire life to the service of this country, left us a few days short of the nation’s 70th birthday at the age of 87.
In a country where the phenomenon of brain drain is quite common and talented men and women consistently depart in their pursuit for greener pastures, Dr Pfau was a breath of fresh air. At the age of 30, the German doctor was sent by the Order to India, but due to visa issues, she landed in Karachi, Pakistan. Touched by ...

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I recently came across a distressing video on Facebook where a woman with perfect makeup and a dupatta pinned to her head was going on about something she felt strongly about. I wasn’t bothered by her appearance as such; I was actually concerned about what she was saying and who she was saying it about.
The woman was standing outside the Edhi Centre and talking about the filth and cruelty she had witnessed there. She said it was better to kill people rather than keep them in such conditions. After giving an emotional speech for around three minutes, she showed a room with inadequate bedding and some children sitting inside. ...

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Dear Soumyadipta Banerjee,
I don’t know if it’s the right thing to be writing you a letter, since you might be endorsing a cut-off of all sorts (of written collaborations between our countries) after so emphatically bashing the cultural ones.
It might not even be the best time for you since I see your fellows are caught up in a frenzy of misjudging the Pakistani markings regarding the ammunition used in the Uri attacks. But I write to you because it’s necessary. You might not have singled out Fawad Khan in your letter but I evidently am addressing this to only you, ...

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The banks of Neelum River, surrounded by the mountains of Kashmir Valley, may seem like an incongruous place to mourn Abdul Sattar Edhi – but I had little choice. That is where I received the news of his demise thanks to a lady who, after finding out that I am from Karachi, immediately asked me if I was going to his funeral.
Shocked, I retired to a lonely spot and then the location didn’t seem so strange after all. Like the eternally flowing waters and high mountains Edhi Sahab was inspiring. His life, like these living natural monuments was gigantic, deep and ...

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Abdul Sattar Edhi was a great man. He was one of the greatest men Pakistan – and perhaps even the whole world ­– would probably witness in our lifetime. For, in a country ridden with much despondency, Edhi’s existence served as a beacon of hope for those who bore first hand witnesses to injustice and inequality.
His founding of the Edhi Foundation – a momentous philanthropic organisation dedicated to serving the poor and the destitute in the country for over six decades – provided light where there was incessant darkness.
He saved lives, time and time again, lives that weren’t ...

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Abdul Sattar Edhi has passed away. And it’s safe to say that he was no less than a hero to the nation, a legend that can never be forgotten. He was a humanist, philanthropist, and a man with a big heart who took care of the poor regardless of their religion, race or culture.
“No religion is higher than humanity” was the key tenet of Edhi, and those working with him. And this was apparent from what I saw as I visited the different centres of the foundation.
A country that is defined by its religious ideology, where fundamentalists try to ...

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He was not a mystic, an angel or someone from out of this world. He was a common man. He was from amongst us who stayed true to his roots and taught people a better way to live through his actions.
What made Edhi stand out from everyone else was not by any sort of divine miracle, but because of the actions he took and decisions he made in his life. He faced poverty, lack of resources and odds (like all of us do) but he did not bow down or shy away from challenges; whenever he was faced with ...

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After I got to know of Edhi’s demise, I couldn’t sleep at night. My mind kept going back to the work he carried out and the people he left behind. I kept scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed which was full of posts by people mourning this great loss and saying that no hope was left for Pakistan anymore.
For some time, I repeated the same things inside my head but then it hit me that it would take a lifetime for the world to see another like him. There was literally no one to walk the earth the way this ...